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What the Wikileaks emails tell us so far: Clinton cozy with banks, lobbyists, she doesn’t like to apologize and media treats her with kid gloves

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Tuesday, October 18, 2016
12:06:15 EDT PM

In this Sept. 26, 2016 file photo, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton listens to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump during the U.S. presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y. Clinton privately said the U.S. would "ring China with missile defense" if the Chinese government failed to curb North Korea's nuclear program, a potential hint at how the former secretary of state would act if elected president. Clinton's remarks were revealed by WikiLeaks in a hack of the Clinton campaign chairman's personal account. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

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A series of WikiLeaks have exposed the depths Hillary Clinton has gone to appear more likable to voters.

Thousands of email messages have been released through Wikileaks in recent days, although the campaign won’t confirm the messages’ authenticity.

Here’s are a few things we’ve learned so far:

Likability:

Clinton’s campaign admitted she may not be the most likable person and plotted ways to help make her look more human including staging pictures of her drinking beer and listening to music. In another email an adviser raved that she “didn’t seem like a b---- in the interview.” In a September 2015 email an adviser suggested she do more late-night television. During these appearances she should “be the kind of funny, slightly bitch person (but in a good way), these people imagine her to be (and she really is, after a drink or two),” Neera Tanden wrote.

Clinton doesn’t like saying “sorry,” at least that’s what a series of emails from her team show. In one email, Clinton’s difficulty with apologizing is referred to as her “Achilles heel.” Another email chain shows some of Clinton’s allies wanted her to apologize for using her private email account at the State Department. Neera Tanden wrote a note to campaign chair John Podesta warning that “her inability to just do a national interview and communicate genuine feelings of remorse and regret is now, I fear, becoming a character problem.” Podesta replied that he and his colleagues were in “the same place,” and were trying to figure out how to get her there and the best way to execute.”

Wall Street speeches:

Among the documents posted online was an internal review of old Clinton speeches to survey the political damage some of her remarks could cause if they became public. In one of the speeches she told real estate investors that “you need both a public and private position.” She also told investment bankers from Goldman Sachs and BlackRock that she’s “kind of far removed” from the middle-class upbringing she often touts on the campaign trail.

Bill Clinton’s former longtime personal aide Doug Band ripped into the Clinton’s daughter, calling her a “spoiled brat,” in one email exchange. He also criticized her for creating problems because she hadn’t found her “focus in life.” The emails showed an apparent power struggle between the Clintons’ daughter and Band, which may have played a role in his departure from the family’s charity. “I don’t deserve this from her and deserve a tad more respect or at least a direct dialogue for me to explain these things. She is acting like a spoiled brat kid who has nothing else to do but create issues to justify what she’s doing because she, as she has said, hasn’t found her way and has a lack of focus in her life,” he said in a Nov. 12, 2011 email.

Bill Clinton accusers:

Before Donald Trump brought up historic sexual assault allegations against Bill Clinton, Clinton’s team was already collecting data to discredit his accusers. Juanita Broaddrick repeated her allegations that Clinton raped her in 1978 in a January tweet and again during an event with Trump in October. Emails between Podesta and David Kendall, a personal attorney for the Clintons, show the team collected documents showing Broaddrick had previously denied the rape allegation under oath.

Foreign lobbyists:

The Clinton campaign debated whether to accept donations from Washington lobbyists representing foreign interests. They considered making an exception for friendly countries — they cited Canada as an example. In the end, they accepted everything. An email purportedly from Clinton’s communications director says: “Take the money!!”

Primary favours:

Emails suggest the Clinton campaign asked the Illinois state government to move back the date of the primary, to hurt Republicans. A purported email from Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook says the Clintons, “won’t forget,” what friends do for them.

Media relations:

A Democratic party official who occasionally comments on CNN told the campaign during the primary that she occasionally gets advance notice of questions for network town-hall events. Donna Brazile now says she never got actual questions. The email thread also revealed a friendly relationship between CNN politics producer and Clinton, which was described as the two, “basically courting each other at this point.” Also, the New York Times went back-and-forth with the Clinton campaign last year over which quotes it could use. Memos also show the campaign planned to meet with reporters and editors about framing messages.